1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to protective dressings, and more particularly to adhesive protective dressings that may be used with animal or human tissue to promote healing, particularly of an oral cavity wound or surgical site.
2. Description of Related Art
It is generally desirable to protect wounded human or animal tissues, particularly oral tissue after gingival surgery, e.g., after tooth extraction. A recent surgical site or wound, in addition to being uncomfortable or painful, is susceptible to infection. Further, lingual and masticatory action, saliva and fluid flow, and food and debris entering an oral wound can delay clotting or dislodge a clot and interfere with healing.
Typically, after oral surgery the surgical incision is often sutured and a cotton dressing (gauze) or a periodontal pack is placed on the surgical site. The dressing""s primary purposes are to apply pressure to the wound to help stop bleeding, provide some protection against contaminants, and act as temporary physical barrier to the oral environment. However, a dressing that is made of an absorbent material, such as cotton or the like, has limited ability to prevent moisture and saliva from reaching the surgical site and itself may become saturated, rendering it useless. Moreover, the dressing is held in place by either compression by the patient, e.g., biting down, or by wedging the pack between adjacent teeth. These methods do not reliably hold the dressing in place and it may be dislodged by lingual and masticatory action, and in any event, does not provide an adequate seal to prevent particles and/or moisture, e.g., saliva, from reaching the site. Such a dressing is only effectively used for perhaps a few hours after surgery.
It would be desirable to use a dressing that would prevent moisture from reaching a surgical site or wound, adequately seal the site from the environment, be pliable and imporous, and be sufficiently adhesive to the site to be reliably retained to it for sufficient time to allow healing to begin without interference from the oral environment. In cases where the wound or surgical site has been sutured, the patient also may need to return to the surgeon""s office at a later date to have them removed.
Numerous materials are known that are both moisture proof, imporous and biocompatible, so as not to not cause physical or chemical damage to the tissues. Such materials include, for example, metals, plastics, vinyls, and hydrogels. These materials are also available in pliable form, e.g., metal foil, such as tin or aluminum. Biocompatible adhesives are also known and include waxes, powders, gums, polymers (such as acrylics) and other materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,550,425 to Burlew, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes an adhesive covering for protecting dental fillings in teeth from moisture. The covering consists of a thin metal foil upon which is deposited a film or layer of paraffin that is united to the foil by heat so as to resist separation. On the outer surface of the paraffin there is rolled or pressed a coating of finely ground gum tragacanth. Jelenko Company of Armonk, N.Y. sells such a covering as Burlew(trademark) Dryfoil(trademark) and Burlew(trademark) Orthofoil(trademark). In particular, the Jelenko product is 99.8% tin foil. The Dryfoil(trademark) has a thickness of about 0.00075 inches, while the Orthofoil(trademark) has a thickness of about 0.0013 inches. The slightly adhesive wax/powder surface allows the foil to adhere to dried teeth.
However, the Burlew covering possesses insufficient adhesiveness to adhere to gingival tissue, which is moist, and its limited thickness provides only minimal physical protection. In addition, it is not sterile, and thus not suitable for post-surgery wound protection.
Thus, it would be desirable for such a covering to have increased capability to seal protected tissues from the oral environment and increased adhesiveness for retention. It would also be desirable to provide the tissue with increased physical protection of the tissue. It would further be desirable that such a covering would be sterile. In addition, it would be desirable to reduce or eliminate the need for suturing a wound or surgical site.
The present invention is directed to providing an adhesive dressing, particularly a gingival protectant having the aforementioned desirable properties.
The invention is a biocompatible adhesive protectant covering or bandage for use with human or animal tissues, and methods of producing the same. The invention comprises a flexible, pliable, ductile, imporous, moisture-proof, i.e., impervious to moisture, dressing with an adhesive for adhering the covering to tissues for temporary retention and protection from moisture. The adhesive is suitable for both hard and soft tissues, including moist gingival tissues in the mouth, as opposed to merely hard tissues. The protective covering is preferably easily applied to the tissues and occupies minimal space, which is beneficial in the mouth, allowing it to be opened and closed with ease while effectively preventing contact of the tongue or lips with the tissue. The dressing may be configured so as to be placed upon a surgical site or wound.
The adhesive may comprise a gamma radiation sensitive adhesive. When the adhesive is gamma irradiated or otherwise exposed to gamma radiation, i.e., above normal background radiation levels, it undergoes physical and chemical changes. These changes include an increase in volume and adhesiveness. The degree of increased volume and adhesiveness, or tackiness, increases with increased irradiation. The amount of irradiation of the adhesive protective covering may be varied depending upon the amount of volume increase and adhesiveness desired. The irradiated adhesive may then be applied to tissue and adhere to it, and when utilized with a protective covering or xe2x80x9coral bandage,xe2x80x9d adhere the covering to the tissue. The increased volume and tackiness may assist the covering in preventing undesirable environmental elements, e.g., in the mouth, from reaching the tissue, and cushioning and/or protecting the tissue from physical impact and contaminants.
The adhesive may be irradiated to a degree so that it will adhere to the tissue for a sufficient time for the tissue to significantly heal. This includes moist tissues that are subject to mechanical forces. Thus, the adhesive, alone or in combination with a protective covering, protects the tissue to promote healing and to minimize the possibility of blood clot breakdown, infection, or contamination, all of which may result in pain and discomfort.
Gamma radiation may also sterilize the adhesive and protective covering, thereby further decreasing the possibility of infection. When sterilized in sealed packaging, the sterility may be maintained until use, which may be years later.